Dropped Picks and Broken Sticks
by 7th Creature
Summary: "No matter how scary it is, we've got each other. We don't care if our song's incomplete; we still like to play it genuinely. No matter how faint it is, there's nothing else like it in this world. Wanna live our lives fully, like it's the very last day on earth."


_(A/N: Hey, people. A few things before you read this. This is my first time writing K-On! and Yuri. I'm usually a writer for adventure and action, so I'm gonna try my hand at drama and friendship. Also, I just got back into K-On! maybe a month and a half ago after two years of not watching it. And I just finished reading the manga. On top of that, I'm not very familiar with Japanese traditions and such, so forgive me if I get anything wrong and please correct me. Also, don't get confused by this prologue, though. The story won't be as dark as it may seem. It'll just be pretty deep – emotion and feeling-wise. It will have its light-hearted moments, though. It's K-On!, after all. Pairings are Mitsu and YuiAzu; though, the romance won't come 'till later. I still haven't decided who to pair Mugi with. It's actually kind of difficult to choose. So many good candidates for that lovely blonde. Anyway, I'll stop my rambling for now._

Disclaimer: I don't own K-On! or any of its characters.

Excuse any spelling errors. My keyboard's messed up. Need a new laptop. Now, without further ado, _**Dropped Picks and Broken Sticks**__!)_

The walls of the building were white; too white, in fact, and it frustrated the brunette as she walked by them.

Two years. She's spent two years walking up and down these bleach-white hallways and empty corridors. Maybe her time here would've been more joyful if the walls had some color on them.

A little bit of pink would be nice. And it'd be cute; let's not forget cute.

It was against the rules, of course. Everything needed to be white in here. If only the chiefs would understand that maybe if they made the place a little more lively, the patients here wouldn't be…well, patients anymore. I mean, who wouldn't get worse if they stayed inside four, painfully white walls 24/7? It's just something they should think about, you know. Something to take into consideration. It'd probably make the staff's day better, too…

Wait, where was she? Oh, right; walking down the halls.

She walked into the white lobby (surprise?) and over to the main desk with a man in hospital garbs walking right behind her. "Patient 0157801, ready to be released." The man behind her informed.

The brunette teen frowned. 'Since when am I an animal?' _Her eyes lit up slightly at that thought._ 'But if I were one, could I be a bunny?'_ Again, it'd be cute._

Oblivious to the girl's thoughts, the man behind the desk nodded and typed something into his computer before reaching under him and producing a pair of scissors. He turned to the girl. "Give me your hand." Snapping out of her thoughts, the brunette looked up then showed her right wrist to the man. He took a hold of her wrist and cut the wristband on her arm. He smiled slightly as he threw it away in a nearby trashcan. "Congratulations, Yui, you're officially out of this dump."

Hirasawa Yui smiled sheepishly at him. "It wouldn't be such a dump if you added some color to this place."

The man behind the counter sighed. "Why does every released patient say that?" He shook his head then pointed outside. "Go on, kid. They're waiting for you."

At this statement, Yui grinned and dashed out of the building, but not before looking over her shoulder and waving at the staff. As soon as chocolate eyes met an identical pair of eyes, a sob escaped her throat.

"Ui!"

"Onee-chan!"

The older brunette started running up to her sister, tears of happiness gathering at the corner of her eyes. Her smile started turning into a confused frown when she saw the shadow of a man coming up behind her sister. A strangled gasp left her throat when she recognized the man's eyes. Her eyes showed her fear when she saw the man raise a knife and aim the weapon at her sister.

"Ui!"

Yui sat up, gasping for breath and sweating bullets as her wide eyes searched the room frantically. Her breathing started slowing down as she realized that she was in her room and she was sitting on her bed. The brunette sighed in relief then looked at her alarm clock. _'A nightmare. They're getting more frequent but they aren't as scary as they used to be, at least.'_ Her eyes fell on a corner of her room and a smile lit up her features. _'I guess I could go for a round with Gitah. It'll calm my nerves before school.'_ She heard some clanging from downstairs, and knew that her sister was already up. The nightmare she just had flashed before her eyes again and she shuddered. _'Yeah. Playing Gitah sounds good.'_

After all, there was nothing in this world that made her as happy as when she played music.__

_**~DPABS~**__****_

_"Good afternoon, sweetie. How was your day?"_

"Good. How's the tour going?"

_"It's amazing, honey."_

"That's great!"

_"It is. Listen, baby girl, I know you've probably heard about this but the tour has been extended. We'll be away for a couple of more weeks. I know you wanted us there for your club's presentation but I'm afraid we won't be able to make it. We're very sorry, Azusa."_

Nakano Azusa frowned. She had known this would happen. It always seemed to happen whenever she had an important event coming up. It was by pure chance that her parents hadn't missed one of her birthdays yet, but she wasn't holding her breath on that one.

"It's alright, Kaa-san. I understand."

_"Alright. We're terribly sorry, cupcake. We really wish we could've attended."_

"….."

_"I'll leave you so you can finish your homework, Azusa. Remember, we love you, honey. Your father sends his best wishes."_

"Hai, love you guys, too. Goodbye."

_"Bye. Love you, baby girl."_

Azusa ended the call and let out a huge sigh. She curled herself even further into the couch, staring at the cellphone in her hands. She placed it by her then turned to gaze at her MP3 player, which happened to be playing her parents' jazz band's latest single.

Frowning even further at this realization, she turned off the music and headed up to her room. Once inside, she sat on her bed and stared at the homework laid on the kotatsu in the middle of her room. She glanced at a corner of her room to look at her precious Mustang, or Muttan as she started calling it when she was slightly younger, on its guitar stand. Without a second glance to her homework, Azusa grabbed Muttan and let out her frustrations the only way she knew how.

Through music.__

_**~DPABS~**___

"Ojou-sama, are you ready?"

"Hai."

"Let us go, then."

Kotobuki Tsumugi took a deep breath then followed her butler out into the ball room, where a couple of hundred guests awaited her presence. She greeted them with a polite smile, despite feeling like a piece of lead was placed in her stomach the moment she walked into the room. She walked over to where her father was standing and took her place by him, raising her chin slightly in the same way she had been taught.

Her father smiled down at her and gently took her by the arm, walking her over to a table where many well-dressed men her age and slightly older awaited them. The men all smiled at them and their eyes wandered over to the blonde teen, who in turn smiled politely at them all. Inside, though, she was feeling slight disgust as their eyes roamed over her while her father conversed with several of them.

"Why, yes, my daughter is an excellent musician. She's a very talented young woman." At her father's words, Tsumugi smiled a little bit easier, knowing that he really meant those words. However, the intent behind this 'gathering' still affects her deeply, thus her smile stays small and polite throughout most of the night.

That smile became real and stunning, though, when she was asked to play a piece on the grand piano in the middle of the room. And as she played a melody that portrayed her emptiness, angst and disappointment – yet was an unquestionably beautiful piece – she couldn't help but notice that while playing this simple instrument and getting herself caught up in the melody flowing from it, she felt something she's been longing for.

Music made her feel _free_.__

_**~DPABS~**___

She tried to drown out the shouting coming from downstairs. She tried to tune them out. She tried to concentrate on the few papers in front of her that were due for next week. But the yelling and the curses wouldn't allow her mind to work on those math problems. And her body seemed to be working against her wishes because her ears were listening intently to the conversation – fight – going on downstairs between her parents.

She flinched when she heard a particularly loud curse then the sound of glass breaking. The teen started abusing her lower lip as she heard her father's angry slurs, and her mother's pleading and sorrowful shouts. She should be used to this; the girl thought as she clenched her eyes shut and bit her lip even more. She should be used to it as this has been going on for as long as she can remember. She blinked away the tears when the topic shifted from her father's alcohol problem to her.

Akiyama Mio let out a shaky breath and ran her hands through her dark hair. She leaned her elbows on her desk and placed her head on her palms, finally giving up on the homework for the time being. She felt numb as she listened to her parents continue their heated discussion. Mio stared at the kanji on her computer screen blankly, eyes half-lidded in a desperate attempt to hide the pain behind that blank gaze.

Mio blinked and sat up when she realized no one was yelling anymore. The sudden slam of the front door rattled the house and made Mio jump from her seat. She listened to the silence that surrounded the house for a moment and frowned in realization when she figured it was her father that had stormed out of the house this time; the lack of loud and slurred words confirming her suspicions. Knowing her mother was downstairs drowning in her sorrow made her feel uneasy. She didn't have a clue as to how to comfort her, much less the bravery needed to do such an action.

This led Mio to take the best course of action. Grabbing her precious bass from the corner of her room, she sat down on her bed and plugged it into an amp, putting the volume loud enough for her mother to hear downstairs. The love for music daughter and mother shared was undeniably strong, as the low purr of the bass relaxed the teen playing and comforted the distressed mother in the kitchen.

The simple music helped them express their sorrow.

_**~DPABS~**_

"Sit up straight."

The scrapping of a chair could be heard in the dining room, along with some shuffling.

"Elbows off the table."

A huff answered the demand.

"Chin up; don't lower your head to the food. Bring the food up to your mouth."

"I sheh eth-"

"Don't talk with your mouth full!"

A frustrated groan.

"Stop making such disgraceful noises-"

"Okay! Okay! I get it! Mou, why do you insist on making my life so damn diffi-"

"Mind the language, young lady! And don't interrupt people when they're talking, much less your seniors."

Tainaka Ritsu huffed and crossed her arms, placing them on the table in front of her now finished dinner. This action only succeeded in angering her mother even further – something Ritsu took great pleasure in. She took a deep breath and glanced at her glaring mother. "We've been through this already, Okaa-chan. I seriously could care less about mannerism-"

"And it looks like we'll have to go through it, _yet again_. This is for your own good."

"Now, who's interrupting who? And for my own good, my ass." The brunette mumbled the last part quietly.

"Tainaka Ritsu!" Said girl yawned, stood up then stretched. She kicked her chair back into place and started walking away with her hands behind her head. Her mother glowered. "Take one more step, Ritsu, and I'll lock the basement up for a month." At the mention of this punishment, the tawny-haired girl stopped in her tracks and reluctantly turned back to her mother. "Now. First of all, you didn't excuse yourself from dinner-"

_'Like it matters, anyway.'_

"-Second, one of your father's associates is visiting next week with their son. As such, the whole family will be present and you will behave correctly-"

_'So, that's what this is about. Tch, should've known.'_ Ritsu frowned and turned her head away. "I still don't get it. I'm only in my second year of high school, Okaa-chan. There's no rush in marrying me off. Just thinking about that makes my back itchy." The teen then took a glance at her scowling mother. _'Not to mention that if I manage to get together with someone I like, you wouldn't like this person in the first place.'_

"Do we really have to go through with this again, Ricchan?" Her mother sighed, unaware of the flinch Ritsu gave at the use of her nickname.

Ritsu frowned even further then scratched the back of her head. "Nah, guess not. Alright. I promise I'll behave that night if you just promise not to lock up the basement." Her mother seemed to think this over before her eyes flashed with a mischievous glint. Ritsu tensed at that, recognizing that glint anywhere. It was a similar one she herself got when she was up to no good.

"If you actually behave like a proper lady that night, I won't lock it up."

"Nani? Hell no! I call this treachery!"

"Ritsu!"

"Hai, hai. Alright." The brunette frowned in disgust of having to _behave correctly_ that one night. _'Doesn't mean I'll stop misbehaving the rest of the time, though.'_ She gave a slightly evil grin and quickly excused herself. Her mother let her go with a frown. As the teen made her way down to the basement, she couldn't help but grin even more. _'Time for some payback. This particular mission will require crazy glue, toilet paper, markers and Satoshi's toothbrush- Itai!'_ Ritsu whimpered as she rubbed her foot, which had collided with the worn-out couch in the middle of the basement.

The brunette straightened up after some serious nursing of her toes and walked over to her precious drum kit. Grabbing her drumsticks, she looked over her kit and her grin softened into a smile. She tapped her foot on the bass pedal six times then went into one of her infamous drum rolls.

Sitting back here, banging on cymbals and toms, was the perfect escape from reality.__

(Bottom A/N: So, how was it? Good, okay, bad? Leave a review on your thoughts and I'll answer them gladly. I'll accept anything. Thank you for reading, guys! See you next time.

7th Creature)


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